Moonlight Kisses (1-Shot)
by RecursiveDestroyer
Summary: Bakura effectively takes Ryou's mind off of his fear. What does the evil spirit realize in the mean time? Tendershipping.


Ryou found himself awake at midnight one night, and he couldn't figure out why he couldn't fall back asleep. His mind was quiet so he knew that his usually depressing thoughts weren't to blame this time. He was comfortably warm underneath his blankets and the room was lit up just the way he liked it by the calming moonlight that streamed into his room via the window. He grumbled and turned onto his side.

He tried falling asleep in the new position but found, once again, that he couldn't. Ryou huffed as he stared blankly at his room. It mostly consisted of pale blue walls that were lacking any decoration. On his single nightstand sat a lamp, an alarm clock, and the millennium ring. The gold metal gleamed rather beautifully in the gentle light and he realized what was causing him his sleepless state.

 _Do I want Bakura's presence here?_ He thought suddenly in shock. He quickly wondered why that could be. It wasn't as if Bakura was nice to him or anything. In fact, the malicious spirit could be quite abusive. While physical contact was limited unless Marik was around, the verbal things Bakura would say were far worse. He was just a pawn to the spirit who only used him to get closer to Yuugi and the so-called 'Pharaoh'. He was literally _trash_ to the spirit and was constantly reminded of it.

 _Then why the bloody hell do I want to have Bakura by my side?_ The thought honestly confused him but he figured if the ring itself could grant him the thing he desired then so be it. Ryou reached out for the ring and was oddly pleased with how it was always warm. Bakura lived within the ring so logic would state that since he was so cold, the ring should be too. Yet, that was never the case and Ryou was grateful for it. For some reason, it drove away whatever was keeping him awake, and he was snuggling the ring closely as sleep finally came upon him.

It was a couple hours later when Ryou was awake again. This time, however, it wasn't because of the same still unknown reason as before. It was completely dark in his room. Fear gripped at him instantly as he clutched the ring tighter. A small whimper escaped his lips and he squeezed his eyes shut in a sorrowful attempt to forget the darkness. He hated to have a dark room at night. He never knew what strange shadow creature would come crawling out of the shadows and he never knew if Bakura would come in a kill it or allow it to torment Ryou just for the laugh.

"You really don't think that highly of me, yadonushi," Bakura's gruff voice came from somewhere within the room, and Ryou couldn't tell where he was standing since his voice technically came from within his head. Ryou fought the urge to whimper. He didn't want to add fuel to his own fire. He felt the bed dip slightly with Bakura's added weight and brushed aside the question of how he even affected solid objects considering he was a spirit. It had to be a statement towards Bakura's own strength and that only made Ryou feel worse. "The moon will come out again soon so stop your worrying," Bakura said offhandedly. It sounded as if he had rolled his eyes as he spoke.

"But what if those-" Ryou cut himself off when he realized that he shouldn't make himself an even bigger target for Bakura's evil teasing. He heard the spirit grumble something unintelligible before he was pulled up and into Bakura's lap. His wide, innocent brown eyes stared into the darkness and there was alarm in them.

"Those shadow creatures come out to get you?" Bakura finished with a dark chuckle. He rearranged their positioning so Ryou faced him while still sitting in his lap. It was a rather intimate position considering Ryou was straddling Bakura's waist and had left the ring behind on his pillow in favor for grasping Bakura's shirt. If Ryou was in the right mind, the fact that he was sitting on Bakura in his _boxers_ would've caused him to blush.

Bakura glanced at the window only to find that the streetlights were out yet again and the sky was blanketed with dark gray clouds. _So, the moon isn't coming out for a while,_ Bakura mused, quite unpleased. He hadn't thought that Ryou would've taken so badly to darkness or he would've taken Marik up on his offer of a lava lamp that he had been giving away.

While Bakura loved messing around with Ryou with constant whispers about how useless he was and the like, he disliked caring for his host when the boy was having an insecure moment like this one. He found that it would often raise a strange emotion from deep within him and he wasn't very fond of how it made him feel. Now, he didn't exactly _hate_ caring for Ryou or the feeling it gave him, but he did hate just how strange it was. Being in control was his thing and an insecure Ryou burned that tower straight to the ground.

Bakura's thoughts were brought back to the present when he felt Ryou move closer to him. It felt as if the boy was… snuggling into his chest? Bakura's dark brown, nearly black, eyes widened slightly at the action. _The bloody hell?_ He almost pushed Ryou back but stopped himself just as he raised his hands to do so. His chest felt warm underneath Ryou's touch and it caused Bakura to tense.

He had always known that Ryou had desired to be comforted physically and that's why he would always let the ring be warm instead of cold. After a while, it was a subconscious thing he did and it never truly bothered him. Bakura knew he himself was to blame for Ryou's inability to comfort himself since Bakura would often refuse to allow him the luxury of watching television underneath a warm blanket or simply drinking a nice cup of hot tea. He had to bite the bullet sometimes and he figured tonight was the night he would have to.

Ryou was shocked and alarmed when Bakura had pulled him into his lap but upon feeling just how _warm_ the spirit was made him move closer to the thief. He didn't know what was wrong with him, but he decided to stop asking why he wanted Bakura's presence there with him. It was oddly comforting despite the lingering fear that a shadow creature would grab him at any moment. For some strange reason, he felt as if Bakura wouldn't allow it to happen but Ryou wouldn't get his hopes up. He was even more surprised when the spirit moved him so they were face to face, but Ryou didn't hesitate to grip Bakura's shirt tighter and move closer to him.

He quieted his mind and just sat there with Bakura. His head was resting against Bakura's chest and he unconsciously snuggled into it. Ryou kept his eyes tightly shut, for he didn't want to even risk looking up at the spirit. He didn't want to risk having Bakura leave him alone for the rest of the night. The spirit himself was a way better comfort than the ring ever could be. The wind suddenly picked up and made the window rattle. Ryou whimpered pathetically and cling tighter to Bakura.

"It's just the wind, yadonushi," Bakura grumbled with an annoyed sigh. Ryou made a soft noise again that sounded like a whine and Bakura sighed again. The boy moved closer still to the spirit and Bakura had to bite his tongue. _Maybe putting him on my lap this way wasn't the best idea,_ he thought. Bakura couldn't help but notice that Ryou was still in his boxers and their hips were _very_ close together. _Damn…_

The strange feeling that would always well up inside him was making a fierce comeback. Upon its first appearance a couple months back, Bakura had quickly figured out that it wasn't lust. No, he lusted after Marik just as the blond did to him, but what he felt for Ryou was something entirely different. It was almost as if it were a protective feeling.

When the window rattled again and Ryou scooted closer, Bakura thought, _Fuck it,_ and slowly wrapped an arm around his host's frail body. He knew that berating the boy wasn't going to help him and would probably only make the situation worse, so he reluctantly decided against it. He pulled Ryou so close they were chest to chest and hip to hip. The boy's head was tucked beneath Bakura's own chin as the spirit held him there.

Ryou's eyes couldn't help but snap open as Bakura's lanky arm went around his back and pulled him so close that he could smell the rich scent of blood that always was on the spirit. He felt Bakura's head resting atop his own and wondered briefly if Bakura had gone mad. Although, when the window rattled a third time, Ryou didn't complain when a second arm wrapped around him comfortingly.

The minutes soon turned into an entire hour and Ryou could feel the urge to sleep coming upon him. Bakura's body heat was such a comfort to him that he couldn't help it. Soon enough, his breathing deepened and evened out and his body felt limp against Bakura's.

Bakura noticed the change immediately and peeked an eye open. Truth be told, he had been dozing in and out for the past hour since they assumed their current position, and he'd take the fact that it was the best sleep he had in thousands of years to the grave. He was careful not to jostle Ryou to much as he separated himself from the boy slowly. He laid the boy back down on his bed and was about to pull the blankets up around him when Ryou's small hand shot out to grab Bakura's sleeve.

 _The bloody hell?_ Bakura thought in surprise. His sleeve was being tugged back towards Ryou and Bakura allowed himself to be brought down beside his host. His dark eyes narrowed suspiciously but found that Ryou was still asleep. The small mumble of Bakura's name didn't escape the thief's notice and it made him tense.

The clouds that were blocking the moon suddenly lifted away and the light cascaded into the room. The gentle light made Ryou seem so angelic and Bakura couldn't help but look at the soundly sleeping face. The protective urge had dwindled into a new one that was just prodding at the edges of his mind. This new feeling was still different than what he felt for Marik but was oddly similar at the same time.

Bakura hesitantly reached out, suddenly unable to control his own limb, to grasp Ryou's cheek gently. The new emotion grew bigger at the feeling of smooth skin beneath his palm and Bakura found himself rubbing his thumb over Ryou's cheekbone. Realization dawned on him and he jerked his hand back quickly.

 _I can't possibly…_ he thought suddenly with wide eyes. A four letter word came to mind that was supposed to be forbidden to him. _Do I…?_ Bakura knew there was only one way to find out. He stared at his host now with hard eyes. There was no possible way that a cold, unfeeling thief like him could _ever_ have _that_ feeling for something much less someone. Yet, it was there. A lingering light at the farthest reaches of his soul. It seemed to call out to him.

Bakura snorted at the idea but moved his face closer to Ryou's anyway. He could at least prove himself wrong with one little action, and he intended on doing just that. Quickly yet gently bringing his lips to Ryou's, a spark went off inside him and he gasped. He pulled away from Ryou quickly but Ryou's grip on his sleeve only tightened.

 _Oh Ra,_ Bakura thought in shock. He stared at his sleeping host in bewilderment. _I guess Hathor is playing her games again._ He felt the urge to kiss Ryou again rise within him and he cursed the goddess before doing so. He was careful not to wake Ryou mainly because he didn't want to explain what he was doing to the boy, but he also wanted to continue kissing him for a few moments more.

When he died, he'd have to have a serious talk with the goddess of love about her meddling in his life. Him liking, no, _loving_ Ryou was going to be a major setback in his plans. Although, deep down Bakura knew it wouldn't be a problem. Just so long as no one knew about it.


End file.
